Go for the Gold!
Hello Neighbor,
Happy Monday, let’s have a great week in Washington, DC!
- 🥇 Looking for Shaun White. 🏂 His last Olympics debut is Tuesday night. Here’s a list of how to watch the Winter Olympics.
- 💖 Finalizing your Galentine’s Day plans in the swamp. 💐 Here’s a list of different events from making flower crowns to underwear racing.
- 🤎 Wanting to celebrate Black History Month in DC. 💕 Here’s a round-up of various events, besides some of the ones listed below.
So, What Should You Do February 7-13?
For your convenience, this newsletter includes emojis to help you during these unprecedented times:
- The 🛋 indicates an event is happening in-person inside.
- The 🌲 indicates an event is happening in-person outside.
- The 💻 indicates an event is happening virtually.
- The 💉 indicates an event requires proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test.
- And lastly, the 🆓 indicates an event is free .
Top Picks of the Week
1. A night of vintage clothing and tarot. 🔮👗🍹 Head to Disco Mary, before it closes, for a Hybrid Healing Party (Wed, $8, 🛋/💉, Blagden Alley). If you’re looking for other vintage options, consider stopping by Each Peach Market’s Valentine’s Day Sidewalk Market (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, Mount Pleasant) or Capitol Cider House’s Valentine Artisan Market (Sun, 🆓, 🌲, Petworth).
2. Pin the tail on the husky. 🎯 For those itching for their chance to go for the gold, head to the Wharf Winter Games (Sat, 🆓, 🌲, The Wharf).
3. New Black-owned businesses opening this weekend. 🍫🌱 New chocolatier Petit Soeur is having its grand opening (Sat, $, 🛋, Georgetown) featuring specials on their glossy bonbons. Houseplant-and-lifestyle shop Black Box Botanical is opening in Takoma (Sat, $, Takoma).
4. The future of DC’s Chinatown. 💔 Join AIGA DC for a limited online screening of the documentary Chinatown (available till Sun, 🆓, 💻), which takes an intimate look at the changing neighborhood from the perspective of its underrepresented community. There will be a Q&A with the film’s director and the festival director of the DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival (Thurs, 🆓, 💻).
5. Give your regards to Broadway. 🎫 This star-studded concert plays homage to the rich legacy of 50 Years of Broadway at the Kennedy Center (Sat, $59+, 🛋/💉, Kennedy Center).
Everything Else This Week
- Ethics, social justice, and hate crimes. 🤍 Hear from the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, Jonathan Greenblatt (Mon, $32, 💻). Join the founder of Busboys and Poets, Andy Shallal, and Say Jayaraman for a discussion about tipped workers and “One Fair Wage” (Tues, 🆓, 🛋/💉, Brookland or ⚡). Sixth & I will host a series of workshops on Jewish Ethics (starts Tues for 5 weeks, $72, 🛋/💉, Chinatown). The National Portrait Gallery is teaming up with the Hirshhorn Museum for their Objects and Social Justice (Thurs, 🆓, 💻) lecture.
- Black icons. 💈🥊🎙📽 Discover Nathaniel “The Bush Doctor” Mathis (Wed, 🆓, 💻), who popularized afros and cornrows. Join an intimate portrait of Ella Fitzgerald (Tues, 🆓, 💻). Watch a documentary about Muhammad Ali (Wed, 🆓, 💻). View the new exhibit of Iké Udé’s “Nollywood Portraits” (ongoing, 🆓, 🛋, National Mall) at the African Art Museum; it showcases individuals of Nigeria’s $3 billion film industry.
- Reclaiming history. 🇱🇷 The African American History and Culture Museum is hosting a session on Using Deed Records to Uncover Your Ancestors (Sat, 🆓, 💻). Learn about the untold story of Liberia’s Founding in 1822 (Wed, 🆓, 💻).
- A repair happy hour. 🧵 Old Town Patagonia is hosting a workshop (Wed, 🆓, 🛋, Alexandria) on how to make your clothes last, including how to patching holes and replace zippers and buttons. The Smithsonian American Art Museum is hosting a virtual handi-hour (Thurs, 🆓 ,💻) on how to bring new life to old clothes with personalized patches and appliqués.
- “The House on the Lagoon.” 🇵🇷 Columbia Height’s Gala Hispanic Theatre debuts the play “La Casa de La Laguna,” which follows a Puerto Rican woman’s journey in finding her voice. The play is in Spanish with English subtitles (till Feb 27, $, 🛋/💉, Columbia Heights).
- Calling all singles. ⛸ There are a few singles mixers in DC—head to Canal Park for a speed dating ice skating mixer (Wed, $30, 🌲, Navy Yard) or to metrobar for a Singles Tracking Dating Event (Fri, 🆓, 🌲/💉, Edgewood). Join a panel discussion about what the future of dating will look like (Thurs, 🆓, 🛋/💉, National Mall).
- Movie showings. 🎬 The French Embassy will be hosting a screening of the comedic L’Auberge Espagnole (Tues, $5, 🛋/💉, Glover Park). The film is about a group of roommates under the Erasmus study abroad program. Although advanced registration is sold out, there may be walk-up spots available for the Kennedy Center’s screening of The Joy Luck Club (Wed, 🆓, 🛋/💉, Kennedy Center).
- Hear from the owner of over 200 houseplants. 🌱 Hillwood Estate will be hosting Hilton Carter on how to make great house gardens by combining greenery, shapes, and textures (Tues, $10, 💻).
- “Blackbeard” Teach and “Black Sam” Bellamy. 🏴☠️ Discover the Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay (Mon, 🆓, 💻).
- Celebrate “National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day.”🤍 Whitman-Walker will be hosting an engaging discussion about the experiences of Black individuals living with HIV (Mon, 🆓, 💻).
- LGBTQ corner. 🌈 There’s an LGBTQ Skate Night (Fri, 🆓, 🌲, The Wharf), a Violent-ine’s Day Massacre drag show (Fri, 🆓, 🛋/💉, NoMA), and a RuPaul’s Drag Race (Fri, 🆓, 🛋/💉, NoMA) viewing party.
- Drinks, glorious drinks. 🍹 Taste cocktails inspired by Gabriel García Márquez’s Love in the Time of Cholera (Sat, $55,💉🛋, 14th St). Learn about wines that are better not blended (Fri, $10, 💻) or that mezcal is more than just smoky cocktails (Tues, $75, 🛋/💉, Blagden Alley).
- Cooking classes. 👩🍳 Make tamales (Thurs, $69, 🛋/💉, Capitol Hill) or shabbat meals (Wed, $12, 💻).
- Visit Jupiter and Venus. 🚀 See the universe come alive as the National Philharmonic performs Holst’s “The Planets” in partnership with NASA Goddard (Sun, $45+, 🛋, Tysons).
- Love stories. 🍆 Hear about awkward sex experiences (Fri, $20, 🛋/💉, 14th St) or attend an open-mic story telling about “Love Hurts” (Thurs, $15, 🛋/💉, The Wharf).
- Happier than ever. Two words: Billie Ellish (Wed, $, 🛋/💉, Chinatown).
- Dance parties. 👯♀️ Like trivia nights, there’s a dance party in DC every week. There’s a 2000s Dance Party (Fri, $16, 🛋/💉, Shaw), and a HEARTBREAK EDITION (Sat, $15, 🛋/💉, 14th St) dance party of emo vs. pop punk music, and an Anti-Valentine’s 90’s dance PARTAAAAY! (Sat, 🆓, 🛋/💉, West End).
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of this newsletter,
Jade Womack (@clockoutdc)
Jade Womack is an energy economist by day, and an events blogger by night. She started her blog, Clockout DC, when she was moonlighting as a bartender in 2019. She grew up in Arlington, and currently lives in Adams Morgan with her dog.
